Just Behrly...

Just over a week ago, I finished up work in Valemount and had to drop a coworker off in the Vernon area.  With Janean off camping, I figured it would be nice to take advantage of the fact I was already in the Okanagan area and spend the next day and a half enjoying the natural history of the southern interior.

After dropping off my coworker, I made a quick dash south and completely forgot how busy it would be during the Canada Day weekend.  I had trouble finding accommodations in Oliver, so I kept going to Osoyoos and eventually managed to find somewhere that was not excessively expensive.  My plan for the next morning was to get up and head to Road 22 to see if dragonflies were cruising the irrigation channel.

When I got there it was still a little early, so I continued on to Black Sage Rd. and realized the area sported an abundance of antelope-brush.  I had a feeling the area was Haines Lease Ecological Reserve due to provincial government signs indicating it was a management area.  If I have an area I can just wander without worrying about trespassing, I am happy.  Off I went in sandals... into the sage, antelope-brush, cheatgrass, and cactus.  After a couple minutes, I marched back to the truck and replaced my sandals with hiking shoes.  I always underestimate how effective cacti and cheatgrass are at transporting themselves from just the slightest brush of a foot.  The shoes made it a bit more comfortable, but I still had hundreds of cheatgrass  seeds embedded in my shoelaces and socks and cacti were embedded in my soles and adhering to my pants.  So why was I putting myself through this treacherous foot gauntlet?  The relatively intact antelope-brush community hosts a butterfly that has a very limited range in British Columbia: Behr's Hairstreak.

I spent hours roaming around a slope covered in antelope-brush and, despite finding dozens of Grey Hairstreaks, a few California Hairstreaks, a couple Common Sootywings, and several amazing robberflies, I just couldn't connect with Behr's Hairstreak.  I have seen one before, but it a very brief sighting at the Osoyoos Desert Centre a few years ago.  I have been told the desert centre's parking lot is one of the best places to see them due to the abundance of yarrow in the garden.  I am stubborn and wanted to get it in a more natural setting.  Haines Lease has a good supply of its host plant (antelope-brush), but I feel it was lacking nectar plants.  Pretty much all of the yarrow I encountered was already dried out.  I was happy I explored this location despite missing my target.  I even scrambled up onto the rocky slope above the antelope-brush community and got one heck of a surprise from a Western Rattlesnake!  This encounter happened so quickly that I didn't manage any photos, unfortunately.  Instead, I can offer shots of a Grey Hairstreak, Common Sootywing, and a Brown-spotted Range Grasshopper.

This dark little skipper patterned with white spots on the forewing is a Common Sootywing

Several of the Grey Hairstreaks were in pristine condition and this is one such individual

Thanks to James Miskelly, I have this identified as a Brown-spotted Range Grasshopper (Psoloessa delicatula)

I decided that I had to abandon my search for Behr's Hairstreak.  Between my time at Haines Lease Ecological Reserve and another little patch of antelope-brush further northwest on Black Sage Rd., I had dedicated enough time to one species.  I cut decided to shift my focus to Dark Saltflat Tiger Beetle (Cicindela parowana), which is currently only known from one location in Canada.  For this species, I headed out east of Oliver.  I didn't have the exact location for it, but a description of the area that I did my best to figure out.  I later found out I wasn't quite in the right spot.  I was having a hard time finding good tiger beetle habitat, so I was sticking to a dirt track that occasionally had some looser, sandier soil.  Based on a report chronicling the search effort for Dark Saltflat Tiger Beetle in recent years, I thought I should be looking around alkali flats.  I got on my phone and used Google Maps to look for any water features that might have an alkali edge.  From my little iPhone screen, I found one spot that looked like a decent candidate.  I drove a few kilometres on the dirt track and ended up at a little watering hole that seemingly gets used by horses.  This wasn't looking too promising.

I hopped out and started searching the dried edge for tiger beetles and the wetter areas for interesting plants or puddling butterflies.  Nothing.  I then continued to walk down the dirt track.  As I walked along, my eyes were drawn to a dark spot on the flat-topped flower cluster of a yarrow plant.  It was a butterfly and the combination of its size and brown tone stopped me dead in my tracks.  Behr's Hairstreak!  I had given up on finding one, but that's often how it goes.  This stunning hairstreak cooperatively nectared from flower to flower on the yarrow.

Behr's Hairstreak is easily one of my favourite butterflies in British Columbia - what a beauty!

I should really end with the Behr's Hairstreak as it was really the high point of the day.  Unfortunately, I am a sucker for chronology and, after enjoying the above Behr's plus another individual that was a little more worn, I had a cooperative California Hairstreak.  Yarrow is such a great nectar plant even if it is rather weedy, and it's also what the California Hairstreak was using for a nectar source.  I may have spent my entire day searching for two main targets, but it was a very rewarding day and I hope you enjoyed ride-along narrative.

This California Hairstreak had the most vibrant markings of the four that I saw over the course of the day

The Flyest Fly

Well, this will be short and sweet.  I have been getting out with my macro lens and it has really opened up the insect world to a level I had not yet delved.  Because I am new with the macro lens, I am still working on balancing the depth of field and shutter speed to get the best results.  With the depth of field issue, you really need to contemplate which angle to photograph something to have all the relevant features in focus.  I think I like downward-facing dorsal (not a yoga move) and perfect side profile the best so far, but I'll work on this.

At any rate, I lost a couple hours in a patch of grass and weeds yesterday at Island View Beach.  I headed south from the boat launch and eventually popped up onto the quite possibly private laneway.  There was a band of vegetation largely consisting of Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) and Spotted Medic (Medicago arabica) that I stalked through rather meticulously.

The sun continued to lower and the light got duller and I decided to make a couple last meanders.  On one of these meanders, I spotted a little fly that had the most intricate pattern I have ever seen.  I only managed a couple photos and you will see what I mean about the shallow depth of field on them.  Still, you can certainly get a sense of how intricate the pattern is on the fly.  Janean managed to put me in the right area for the identification and I further narrowed it.  It is a fruit fly in the genus Paracantha, which I have a feeling only has one representative locally: P. culta.  I will amend this if I find out there are more species and it can't be identified.  In the mean time, enjoy this outrageous fly and maybe it'll inspire you to refine your search image to a finer scale every once in a while.

Even the eyes on Paracantha culta are patterned - ridiculous!

Look at those wings - truly amazing!

Spring Birding

As spring rapidly approached, I was seeking any opportunities I could get to be out photographing birds as they ramp up their breeding activities.  Many of our local species are already paired up and starting to get all domestic.  I have noticed many of the woodpeckers seem to be travelling in pairs, Red-winged Blackbirds are vying for territory and harems of streaky females, Bewick's Wrens are tilting their heads way back to belt out loud songs, and male American Robins are absolutely radiant in their alternate plumage.  I will just provide a little collection of some of the shots I have taken in the week or so.  I hope you enjoy and now that our calendar's confirm spring is here, I hope everyone gets out to enjoy their local parks as we experience a fresh pulse of biodiversity.

A nice sun-soaked Northwestern Crow on Cattle Point

Song Sparrow picking through the high tide wrack at Cattle Point

American Robins are conspicuous in Garry Oak meadows where rain has saturated the thin layer of soil

Males in alternate plumage can be identified by their dark hood contrasting the greyish back and rich burnt sienna chest

Varied Thrushes have been more vocal, making an array of ringing and organ-like tones

Male Hairy Woodpecker on a Garry Oak in Gore Park

Northern Flicker striking a great pose on a dead Garry Oak branch

Female Bushtit - notice the pale eye - hanging from a hawthorn branch

Male Downy Woodpecker near the tip of a Garry Oak branch

This Chestnut-backed Chickadee knows that every rose has its thorn

Hutton's Vireos are starting to repetitively "zu-weep" after their lengthy winter of virtual silence

This male Spotted Towhee was scratch-hopping to dig through an ant mound, which you can see it perched atop here

Male Red-winged Blackbird singing from the top of a cattail: a classic wetland scene

Female Red-winged Blackbird with a bit of cattail fluff on her bill

As you can see, there is no shortage of interesting sightings out there right now.  Hopefully I'll have more photos after this weekend and if I get anything really good, it will be up sooner than later.  Now get out and enjoy the first weekend of the spring!

Don't Forget to Duck When It's Raining

The post-Valentine's Day weather seemed to embody all the bitter singletons - it was miserable!  I decided to scout around a little to prepare for tomorrow's Valentine's Couples Birdathon despite the foul weather.  For the most part, the birding was slow and not worth waxing poetic or whatever you want to call what I normally do.  Instead, I will just focus on the fantastic views the ducks offered up at Patricia Bay today.

When it's pouring, sometimes the last thing you feel like doing is getting out of the car.  Well, maybe I'm just lazy and didn't bring a rain jacket.  Either way, I drove to the north end of Patricia Bay to scan through the ducks today and found the whole exercise to be rather enjoyable.  I will probably have to return when the light is better and I can stand on the shoreline for better photos, but it was certainly a satisfying challenge today from the car.

Greater Scaup were often close to shore, which allowed me to study their head shape.  I always take the opportunity to study their head shape, which, compared to Lesser Scaup, is more rounded and has the high point towards the front of the head.

A perfect side profile of a male Greater Scaup surrounded by four females.  Another feature to note on the male is the clean white flanks, which is apparently more commonly shown by Greater Scaup.  The females appear to show more extensive white on the face, which is commonly shown by Greaters.

One last shot of a male Greater Scaup, which again emphasizes the head shape and clean white flanks.  The grey appearance to the back is the result of fine barring; Lessers should have coarser barring.

Surf Scoters are always a treat to see up close, so this group consisting of two pairs was a nice sight.

A pair of White-winged Scoters momentarily made it in relatively close to the shore.  There is certainly a je ne sais quoi about scoters!

This appears to be a first-winter male White-winged Scoter to the best of my knowledge.  I believe an adult would show a more prominent bump on the bill and a more extensive white mark under the eye.

That's all I have to offer for now.  I hope the next time it rains, this has inspired you to take a drive and never your leave your vehicle.  Choose a good body of water you can drive right up to for best results!

Right-breasted Nuthatch

In this case, White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) is the right-breasted nuthatch.  In the Victoria checklist area, they are considered accidental according to the 2001 checklist and it's a bird I've always wanted to see locally.  Imagine my surprise when I checked BCVIBIRDS midday on Friday and learned that Mike Shepard had found a White-breasted Nuthatch along Cedar Hill X Rd. near the Uplands Golf Club.  Janean and I had to run a work-related errand in the Ten Mile Point area to finish our work day, so we made a quick attempt around 4 p.m.  A birding army of three was already there doing their best to find the rarity from the east.  We all put in a good effort, but we just couldn't turn any of the Red-breasted Nuthatches (S. canadensis) into the sought-after species.

Janean had a running course and pottery the next day, so I decided to walk the 10 kilometres from Commonwealth Pool to the golf course.  I managed to get back in the vicinity of the previous day's sighting by 11 a.m., which gave me more than an hour to search for the nuthatch.  Mike McGrenere rolled up beside me on his bike while I was still walking and he slowed his pace to join me for the last half kilometre.  We decided to split up to maximize the ground we were covering, but we were luckily spared our futile efforts when Jeff Gaskin popped out to advise us the bird was being seen along the edge of the golf course.  He led us along the fence that separates the golf course from a gated community and we soon saw Aziza Cooper and Mary Robichaud beaming as they watched the White-breasted Nuthatch clinging to the side of a pine tree.  Rarities just don't get much more confiding, granted you can find it in the first place!

Like I said... confiding!

Finally I have photos that I don't have to call "record shots"!

It looks like the White-breasted Nuthatch found a pine seed hidden in the cracks of the bark - score!

As if seeing the White-breasted Nuthatch wasn't enough, the line of pines had some great bird activity.  The added highlights were dozens of Red-breasted Nuthatches in the trees and on the ground and a flock of Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) systematically stripping the pine cones of their seeds.  I decided to try to get a photo of the crossbills and had the most amazing views of a few individuals that were so content feeding that they paid me no mind.  In fact, one male dropped from a cone a few metres away to an even closer cone and then to another cone even closer still.  I actually had to take a step back to be able to focus my lens!  I also had a humorous event involving the Red-breasted Nuthatches when I noticed the White-breasted around 30 metres away.  I decided to beeline to it and as I approached I had at least two Red-breasted Nuthatches fly out from under my feet!  The pine trees were creating a buffet for several species and they were not about to let a few nosy humans stop them from capitalizing on it!

This is just one example of the non-stop Red-breasted Nuthatch action going on under the pines.

Here's another shot of a Red-breasted Nuthatch picking through the needle litter.

I could have nearly reached out and grabbed this Red Crossbill after it moved one cone closer!

And here's the prize the crossbills were using their specialized bills to extract from the cones - amazing!

Canada's First Orange-flanked Bush-Robin

That was my attempt to confuse and delight your senses... did it work?  Orange-flanked Bush-Robin is another name for a wee Asian flycatcher many British Columbia birders are now familiar with: the Red-Flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus).

On January 13, 2013, a birder by the name of Colin McKenzie visited Queens Park in New Westminster and saw a bird that had him drawing a blank.  He studied the bird and jotted down some detailed notes and passed the information on to George Clulow and Mike Toochin.  I am not sure what exactly the notes said, but I envision it being something along these lines: "Small brown-backed bird with red flanks and a blue tail." Regardless of what his notes actually said, it was enough to convince George and Mike that the bird in question was almost certainly a Red-flanked Bluetail.  I follow sightings in North America close enough to know this species has turned up on islands off California, including one just over a year ago on San Clemente Island.  Every time something of that magnitude turns up in California, I wonder if it had to pass by British Columbia or whether they sneak by hundreds of kilometres offshore.  Either way, I always hoped an Asian flycatcher would be turned up in British Columbia some day.  Well... it happened!

My first chance to try for the mega rarity was January 19, but the Brothers Kimm - Jeremy and Jason - put the invite out to head out on the 20th instead.  I accepted and contacted my good friend, Tom Plath, to see if he would be up for picking up three wishful birders at the ferry terminal.  Tom was more than happy to oblige, which was great because I have very poor navigational skills on the Lower Mainland.  Our plan was set then - Jason would head down from Duncan, pick us up, and we'd walk on the ferry and meet Tom on the other side.  A minor hitch the morning of the twitch day came in the form of Jeremy K.'s car rolling up to my place and no sign of Jason.  Apparently Jason forgot to set his alarm and woke up around the time he was supposed to be at his brother's place.  Jeremy K. wasn't about to let the day go to waste, especially when we had a ride waiting for us on the other side, so he took matters into his own hands.  We booked it to the ferry terminal and Jason decided he would still try to make it in time.  I am not sure how he did it, but he managed to be the second-to-last walk-on passenger on the ferry.  Crisis and guilt averted!

Tom was waiting for at the Tsawwassen terminal and he was in good form.  He got us down to Queens Park in good time and it was one of those anticlimactic twitches where there is minimal work required to find the target.  The paparazzi was on the scene as expected, but it didn't seem like anyone was intently staring at the bird when we arrived.  Within a couple minutes of assessing the area, I saw a bird fly in and land at the top of a low perch.  I saw a few Red-flanked Bluetails on my trip to Thailand and this bird brought in a flood of memories.  The bird was sporting a warm brown back, orange-red flanks, a blue tail that varied in vibrancy depending on the light, a prominent white eyering, and a dingy brown wash the upper chest that was contrasted by its white throat.

The morning light and slight fog created a rather ethereal setting for the Red-flanked Bluetail.

After our entire group had great looks at the bird, we relaxed and spent the next couple hours casually watching the bird, chatting with fellow birders, taking some photos, and shaking our heads at the shuffling, bumbling photo mob.  Publicity for birds is a bit of a double-edged sword and the Red-flanked Bluetail was a great example.  One one hand, many people learned about this rare bird and were interested in catching a glimpse.  This brings about a greater awareness and appreciation for wildlife.  The flip side of the coin is the inexperienced masses coming out to catch a glimpse of this Asian vagrant and maybe even get a photo.  The end result is a bird that has to work a little harder to stay alive because it is continually flushed by people getting a little too close.  Luckily this bird seemid quite adept at foraging and the coldest snap of the winter is likely behind us.

I know the whole twitching thing is not for everyone, but it's pretty cool to go see a bird that you'll almost certainly never see on Canadian soil again in your lifetime!  I'll wrap this up with a big thanks again to Tom for being the commander-in-chief and Jason and Jeremy K. for being two good twitching buddies.  The perfect recipe for a good twitch is seeing the target bird and having good company!  A few more pictures of this beauty should be a nice way to finish off this post.

The Red-flanked Bluetail stayed in the shadows for the most part, which made getting nice photos very tricky.  Although not the crispest photo, this shows off the namesake blue tail perfectly.

Ooooh... look at that red flank!

This photo shows off that contrasting white throat nicely - great bird!

Citrine Wagtail Update (last sighted February 16th)

Due to the fact the last Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola) in North America only put in a very brief appearance, I am sure the first-winter bird in the Comox Valley of British Columbia is looking pretty tempting to some ABA listers!

I am fortunate enough to live on southern Vancouver Island, so it was no skin off my back to hightail it north up the Island Highway and be at the wagtail site around three hours later last Sunday.  A slim fraction of birders that want to see this bird have that option, so I thought I would highlight some options for those contemplating a wagtail chase.

The wagtail has been putting in regular appearances for several weeks straight now and only recently has there been an exciting change occurring to the bird itself.  In the last few weeks, the wagtail has been molting some feathers on its face.  Recent photos by Tony Markle (seen here) are some of the finest I've seen yet and they show the hints of lemon around the eye coming in.  If you are making an attempt to see the Citrine Wagtail and strike out at the traditional location, visit Nathan Hentze's blog entry for an alternate location the bird was seen during a bout of stubbornness in the last days of 2012.  The sighting continues to amaze me and the fact that so many observers have been able to come out and see it is great!  Hopefully this bird continues to delight birders from all over the ABA area that make the trip out!  If it's still there when I get back from Ontario in the second week of January, I hope to make another trip up to see it in all its yellow splendour!

I have created some Google maps with the directions from all of the likely routes out-of-town birders might take to get to the wagtail's location. Click on your mode of transportation to Vancouver Island:

Horseshoe Bay (North Vancouver) to Departure Bay (Nanaimo) Ferry
Tsawwassen to Duke Point (Nanaimo) Ferry
Comox Valley Airport (YQQ)
Nanaimo Airport (YCD)
Victoria International Airport (YYJ)
Coho Ferry (Port Angeles, WA to Victoria)

Check to see what the most convenient, comfortable, and cost-effective means of travel is for you.  The quickest route would obviously be catching a flight right into Comox, as the airport is just over 10 minutes from the wagtail's location.  For reference, the two airlines that have service to the Comox Valley Airport are WestJet and Central Mountain Air.  This can still be tricky to arrange as WestJet only has flights in from Calgary and Edmonton, while Central Mountain Air flies in from those two cities plus Vancouver.  Check their websites for scheduling and availability.  The Nanaimo Airport offers the next most reasonable option as it puts you around an 1.5 hours away and has slightly more options than the Comox Valley Airport.  The biggest airport on Vancouver Island is the Victoria International Airport, which has many flight options so check your favourite airline to see if they have available flights.  The downside to the latter airport is the 3 hour drive you'd need to make after flying in.  The two ferries to Nanaimo are operated by BC Ferries and you should know the schedule before arriving at the terminal, and also show up a bit early to ensure you make it on.  For best results, you will want the first ferry - so that's 6:30 a.m. for the Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay Ferry and 5:15 a.m. for the Tsawwassen to Duke Point Ferry.  The Coho Ferry is run by the Black Ball Ferry Lines and is does not run as often.  The first ferry leaves at 8:20 a.m. and puts you in Victoria just before 10:00 a.m., so you wouldn't make it up to the wagtail site until around 1:30 p.m. if all goes well.

For each of the directions provided in the Google maps above, you can see that the end point is approximately 500 metres (or 1/3 of a mile to Imperial-based readers) down Comox Rd. after taking a right turn off 17th St. after crossing the Courtenay River.  Once on Comox Rd., just drive a short ways and look for a roadside pullout along a chainlink fence on the right side and there should be room to park there.  John Puschock was kind enough to post a photo of the gravel road you head down to look for the wagtail.  Note the "For Sale" sign - it's a good marker to know you're in the right spot if there isn't a line-up of cars.  Please be careful crossing the road as it can be busy with traffic at times.

As you walk down the gravel road, you will come to a cable gate and there will be some trees on your left.  Step over this gate and continue past the small patch of trees until you reach the opening on your left.  You are now looking at the field the Citrine Wagtail has been favouring.  Scan for the bird around the edge of the field.  When I saw the bird on November 18th, it spent almost all of its time in the southwest corner of the field, but it has also been reported by the burn piles further along the farm lane.  The wagtail seems to like working the perimeter of pools formed by depressions around the edge of the field.  See the embedded Google map (you'll probably need to zoom out) for some extra notes and a better visual on where the wagtail has been viewed since November 14th.  To maximize your chance of success, get to the site as early as possible.  The bird has been seen every morning for the last week, but afternoon crowds have dipped on more than one occasion.


View Citrine Wagtail field in a larger map

This is an example of the Citrine Wagtail foraging along the edge of a pool on November 18, 2012.

In this shot, you can see everyone is just past the patch of trees and they are scoping into the southwest corner where the wagtail was located.

This is a view of the southwest corner.  Note the pools forming at the interface between soil and grass and also look at the thin strip of soil wrapping around the back of the field (in front of the willows).  Scan near the edge of all standing water in the field and also use a scope to follow that strip of soil around the back of the field.

One final important note relates to ownership of the land where the Citrine Wagtail is located.  Art Martell managed to contact the farmer that owns the land and he graciously granted birders access to the gravel road.  Without Art's effort we probably wouldn't have access to view the wagtail and the chances of seeing it from Comox Rd. are next to nil.  I would sincerely like to thank Art for smooth-talking the landowner to allow birders to venture down the gravel road and seek out this mega rarity.  Please respect the landowner's wishes and stick to the gravel road.

Citrine Wagtail Twitch!

Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola) had only knowingly graced North American soil once before November 14th, 2012.  The first record was a mind-boggling two-day affair from Starkville, Mississippi just over 20 years ago.  On the 14th, Dave and Adele Routledge decided to check the birds down a seemingly random farm road in the Comox Valley.  The whole Comox Valley looks great for birding, with the Courtenay River Estuary being one of the most obvious features.  Why Dave and Adele chose to head to the other side of Comox Rd. that day and head down that dirt lane is a mystery, but they were amply rewarded for thinking outside the box!  Having experienced Yellow Wagtail some 50 years ago back in England, Dave knew he was looking at a wagtail when he found an unusual grey-and-white bird bobbing its tail.  He made several keen observations and presumed it was a Yellow Wagtail.  The description left no doubt that he had observed a wagtail, but no diagnostic features that separated it from other wagtails were mentioned.  I felt obliged to inquire why he thought it was a Yellow - an Eastern Yellow Wagtail (M. tschutschensis) to be precise with modern taxonomy - and not one of other potential options.  I mentioned Grey Wagtail (M. cinerea) and White Wagtail (M. alba) as other likely candidates to show up, but didn't even think of adding Citrine to the mix as it had never been recorded in Alaska.

Dave decided he had better go back out and go over the identification in greater detail.  Amazingly, he returned to the wagtail's original location two days later and managed to relocate it.  After longer looks in better light, the identification shifted towards the White Wagtail camp based on the more plain-faced appearance, grey back, two broad white wing bars, and white forehead.  The feature that didn't add up for White, though, was the lack of any kind of black markings on the chest.  At this point, no photos had been taken but the shifted identification and up-to-date sighting put a handful of birders into action the next day.  Mike Bentley was one of the few that made the journey and he came prepared with his camera and finally the bird was documented!  Once the photos were posted to BCVIBIRDS, the real excitement began.  Word soon spread that this looked like a classic 1st-winter Citrine Wagtail.  I grabbed my Birds of East Asia field guide, thumbed through to the wagtails, and could immediately tell why I couldn't come to grips with the bird being one of three more expected wagtail species.  CITRINE... expletive deleted... WAGTAIL!

Luckily I had already made travel arrangements to go up and see the wagtail.  Jeremy Kimm and I had just attempted a big day on Saturday and decided rest was for the weak.  He was a real trooper and picked me up at 5 a.m. even though I was the wrong direction.  We picked up his brother, Jason, in Duncan on the way up to the Comox Valley and the three of us were on location just after 8:30 a.m.  I rarely make my way up to the Comox Valley, so I was able to put some unfamiliar faces to familiar names as Dave Robinson, Art Martell, and Terry Thormin were there scouring the area for the wagtail.  Additionally, one familiar-yet-enigmatic face was in attendance as Keith Taylor had made the drive up the night before to be there for first light, and Mike Yip was sporting the long lens in hopes of getting some primo documentation.  They informed us they had not yet located the wagtail.  That all changed five minutes later when Art scanned around edge of the southwest corner of the field.  I was right alongside Art when he exclaimed "There it is!"  He notified the others and soon we were all taking in full frame views of the bird in our scopes!

The field marks were all there for a 1st-winter Citrine Wagtail: white completely framing its grizzled auriculars, a clean grey back with no hints of olive or brown, white supercilia connected by white over the bill, immaculate white undertail coverts, and two bold, white wing bars.

The next task was to get some photos to document the bird.  After all, we were dealing with a first Canadian and second confirmed North American record.  The bird was quite cooperative and everyone was very respectful of the bird's space, knowing that birders from the Lower Mainland were on their way.  Eventually I managed to get some decent shots when the Citrine Wagtail was at its closest.  I even took some poor footage of the bird to document its call.  Later we were joined by a half-dozen or more Lower Mainland birders that made the ferry trip over and, needless to say, they were happy twitchers!  I don't think I need any more commentary on this amazing bird, but I will close this out with a big congratulations to Dave and Adele Routledge for their amazing find!

Giant crowd... from a British Columbia perspective!

My recording was sent to Brent Beach and Ian Cruickshank to try to enhance its quality.  Ian kindly put the recording up on xeno-canto and I managed to figure out how to embed it here:


The above recording has a bland X-ray style sonogram, but you can enjoy Ian's Amazing Technicolor Dream Sonogram below:

Damsels Without Distress

I used to look at damselflies and think they were one and the same.  It's pretty much how any vaguely similar-looking creatures appear before you learn the terminology and take the time to unfold the mystery.  Approximately five years ago I finally decided to try to crack the code on damselflies and the task turned out to be not overly cumbersome.  If you're dealing with the damselflies of British Columbia, Rob Cannings' "Introducting the Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon" lays out the diagnostics nicely and aided greatly in all my early identification endeavors.  Any travels further afield, Dennis Paulson's fantastic "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West" and its geographical sequel "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East" are great purchases and will help unfold most North American identification conundrums you encounter.

In the spirit of breaking down the walls of identification, I took some shots of local damselflies today and will point out some key features to distinguish them from species similar in appearance.  If you think they are too daunting to bother looking at in detail, perhaps this can change your mind.

Before getting into the nitty gritty, I will do a crash course on damselfly anatomy with a labeled photo - click the photo to see it slightly larger for best results.  The features that are pertinent to this exercise are the terminal appendages (cerci above and paraprocts below), ten abdominal segments, and antehumeral stripes on the thorax.

I will start obvious by looking at the forktails.  Forktails in British Columbia are easily distinguished from bluets by their mostly black abdomen with two or three blue subterminal abdominal segments.  We have four species in the province of which three are found on southern Vancouver Island.  In my last post, I took a shot of a Western Forktail (Ischnura perparva) and mentioned the antehumeral stripes on the thorax separated it from the more abundant Pacific Forktails (I. cervula).  I'll resurrect the photo of the Western Forktail here and then follow it up with a shot of a Pacific for comparison.  The only species I did not find on this outing that can be found locally (but seemingly scarce on Vancouver Island) was Swift Forktail (I. erratica).  It is a larger forktail that has blue extending up onto its 7th abdominal segment in males, whereas the blue stops at the 8th abdominal segment on both Western and Pacific Forktail males.  Click the link here for a photo I took a couple years ago that shows this feature nicely and compare to the more common species below.

Abdominal segments S1 to S7 and S10 are black while S8 and S9 are blue, which gives the impression of a black abdomen with a blue tip.  Once narrowed down to forktail by the abdominal pattern, this individual can be identified as a male Western Forktail by its small size and two thin, blue antehumeral stripes.

Once again the black abdomen with blue tip (S8 and S9, again) appearance pegs this as a forktail, locally.  From there, the four blue spots on the thorax distinguish this as a male Pacific Forktail.  I can't fully demystify every individual you come across with this overview, unfortunately.  Pacific Forktails that have not gained their mature colouration have markings that resemble antehumeral stripes.  Experience is required to gauge size and determine whether the individual you're seeing is showing the pattern of a fully-matured adult.

I am approaching this more from the angle of identifying males of each species because they are a nice starting point.  If you're ever unsure about the identity of a male forktail, their terminal appendages (scroll down) are a good fallback.  I always thought I needed a microscope or hand lens to view the shape of the terminal appendages, but you can simply invert your binoculars and hold them very close to the object of your interest.  Females can be very difficult to distinguish, so I typically don't bother.  However, if you're motivated you can try to locate the vulvar spine which female Pacific Forktails often have and Westerns lack.

The next species I encountered comes from a much more perplexing genus: Enallagma, also known as the American bluets.  In British Columbia, six species are common and another is known from a single specimen that may or may not be erroneous.  On southern Vancouver Island, I have the opportunity to encounter three species and fortunately one is considerably easier to identify than the other two.  I managed to get several shots of Tule Bluets (E. carunculatum) to illustrate what they look like, and then you will hopefully be able to spot a Northern (E. annexum) or Boreal Bluet  (E. boreale) by contrast.

Male Tule Bluets have a greater proportion of black to blue on their middle abdominal segments.  This angle is not the best for illustrating this point, but you can still see that the extent of black is greater than blue.  Males Northern/Boreal Bluet complex are noticeably bluer, with only thin black bands on segments 3 to 5; segments 6 and 7 are still largely black on Boreal/Northerns.

This is a better example of the proportions of black to blue on a male Tule Bluet's abdomen.  Boreal/Northern Bluets have more blue than black on segments 3 to 5, whereas Tule has more black as you can see above. 

Here is a pair of Tule Bluets in tandem.  Female Tule Bluets can apparently be distinguished from the other local bluets by the full black stripe on the 8th abdominal segment, which is highlighted in the above photo.

This pair of Tule Bluets is in the wheel position.  When the damsels are in this position, they often form a heart - it must be love if she has decided to accept the sperm from his secondary genitalia, as the old saying goes!

If you want to confirm you've got a Tule Bluet and have a means of catching one, you can once again check the male's terminal appendages (scroll down).  If you find a bluet on southern Vancouver Island that has more blue than black on those middle abdominal segments, you'll need to look at the terminal appendages to narrow the identification down to species.

The last damselfly I photographed is a spreadwing, which, as its name implies, perches with its wings half open.  On southern Vancouver Island, all five species of spreadwing found in the province have been recorded.  The rarest of the lot is Sweetflag Spreadwing (Lestes forcipatus), which was discovered in British Columbia less than 15 years ago.  The male Sweetflag Spreadwing is hard to differentiate from Northern Spreadwing (L. disjunctus), but the female is diagnostic in having an ovipositor (Northern above, Sweetflag below) that extends beyond the end of the abdomen.  Sweetflag Spreadwings seem to prefer sedge fens and last time I checked we don't really have any in Victoria proper, so it is pretty safe to call them Northerns in most urban areas.  If head back into "the sticks" and navigate around some interesting wooded ponds, bogs, or sedge marshes, it's certainly worth double-checking female spreadwings for Sweetflag. With that disclaimer out of the way, the remaining species can easily be identified by the male's terminal appendages (scroll down).  I luckily had a species that does not even require looking down to that level, even though it's quite easy with spreadwings.  I found Spotted Spreadwings (Lestes congener) and was able to determine this by its namesake black spots on the underside of the thorax.

This shot shows the typical perching posture of a spreadwing. Rather than having the wings folded up like a typical bluet or forktail, they are remain half open. Note that I used the word "typical" - refer back to the shot of the Pacific Forktail above and you'll see that other damselflies occasionally adopt a similar perching posture. Consequently it is not safe to rely on the half-spread wings to determine you've got a spreadwing.  This Spotted Spreadwing shows other features that can be used, including: long, skinny abdomen with powder blue terminal segments, thorax that is predominantly dark above and pale blue-grey below, and projecting terminal appendages that have obvious arcing cerci that nearly meet.

Once you've determined you're looking at a spreadwing, check the underside of the thorax for the characteristic black spots (there are typically three per side) to see if it is a Spotted Spreadwing.  In this shot, you can just see one of the dark marks cutting through the pale blue-grey underside of the thorax.

If you refer back to the diagram of male spreadwings' terminal appendages, the top left illustration shows the shape of the cerci (longer, arcing outer projections) and paraprocts (shorter inner projections) of a Spotted Spreadwing.  You can see how nicely it matches the cropped photo above.  For those who have never attempted to look at the male's terminal appendages with a hand lens or inverted binoculars, you may have been skeptical about being able to see the details shown in illustrations.  Let me assure you that it's not overly difficult, especially with spreadwings.  In fact, if I catch a spreadwing and bring it up close to my eye, I can identify it without any extra magnification.

I have covered off examples of the three largest genera of damselflies in British Columbia.  The five remaining genera are represented by three or fewer species and only one of these is found on southern Vancouver Island.  That latter genus is Amphiagrion, which contains only two species: Western Red Damsel (A. abbreviatum) and Eastern Red Damsel (E. saucium).  I don't want to assume you know which one is here, but you should have an inkling that it's Western Red Damsel.  I also don't want to assume you would know it if you saw it, so I will tell you it's the only red damselfly around.  I have only found Western Red Damsel in one place on southern Vancouver Island, and it was along the railroad tracks above Goldstream Provincial Park.  I have also heard it can be found at Rithet's Bog.

If you have any questions on where to find any particular species locally or anywhere else in the province, I can certainly do my best to answer your question.  You can also hit me up for an identification request and I will try my best to tackle it and give you pointers.

Now get out there and enjoy these fascinating little creatures while they're still flying!  We're nearing the end of summer and they won't be out for much longer.